Saint Arnold rolls out 12-packs of Santo following 2014 World Beer Cup win

Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the oldest craft brewery in Texas, describes Santo as black Kölsch, but an elite international panel of judges considers it a world-class example of American-Style Dark Lager. Over the weekend, Santo earned its second consecutive medal in the American-Style Dark Lager category, this time taking Silver, at the World Beer Cup gala and awards ceremony at the Hyatt Regency Centennial Ballroom in downtown Denver.

This is the 11th World Beer Cup medal won by Saint Arnold Brewing Co. The 10th biannual competition, the 2014 World Beer Cup featured a record 1,447 breweries from 62 countries and nearly 5,000 entries in 94 beer-style categories. It is considered one of the two most prestigious beer competitions in the world along with the Great American Beer Festival. Saint Arnold has been recognized with 18 Great American Beer Festival medals.

Originally released in 2011, Santo has quickly become one of Saint Arnold’s top selling beers. (Just don’t mispronounce it.) Despite its dark color, Santo maintains the light bodied and floral characteristics of a true Kölsch, even though it has a distinctive dark malt flavor. Saint Arnold uses the same special Kölsch yeast – an ale yeast that ferments at almost lager temperatures – that is used in Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower Beer.

“The Santo recipe took the longest to develop – five years – of any beer we’ve released,” said Saint Arnold Founder/Brewer Brock Wagner. “Being recognized for our quality and creativity by the World Beer Cup judges is an affirmation of our mission to consistently brew world class beers.”

Santo is currently available throughout Texas, Louisiana and in parts of Florida and Colorado in 6-packs of 12-ounce bottles and on draft. This week Saint Arnold is introducing 12-packs of Santo.

Santo is brewed using pale two-row and pils malted barley, a dash of malted wheat and an addition of dark malt. Saint Arnold uses Hallertau Hersbrucker hops, added to the brew kettle in four separate cycles to create a delicate flavor and aroma. It has an original gravity of 1.045 (11.4° Plato), bitterness of 15 IBU and alcohol content (by volume) of 4.9 percent.